Process of and apparatus for making composite sheets



May 11 1926.

J. E. HAGER PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPOSITE SHEETS 5 sheets-skeet 1 tt urn e Filed Mar May 11 1926. 1,5845450 J. E. HAGER PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPOSITE SHEETS Filed March 13. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet. 5

27 60 61 1 /m\ /2 gr r1x1 r n n n n u nr 11 M1 u'u'||-uwu u n u Inventor- J. E. I-Igger Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED STATES JOHN E. HAGER, OF MIENTOR, OHIO.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPOSITE SHEETS.

Application filed March 13, 1923.

The present invention relates to a process of and apparatus for making a composite sheet of material which'is adapted to be used for such purposes as the construct-ion of baskets and the like.

At the present time those baskets which are ordinarily used for the packing of fruit, grapes, berries and like products are almost entirely formed'of wood, although the constantly soaring price of wood has rendered this material rather expensive for such uses.

The object of the present invention has accordingly been to provide an inexpensive composition material which can be formed of low grade or waste products, and which will provide a satisfactory and inexpensive substitute for the wooden splints which are now used.

lVith the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in a certain process for manufacturing the basket making material and also in a machine comprising certain combinations and arrangements of parts, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features, there of being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following de scription and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine for maufacturing the basket making material.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional View through the tank containing the glue or sizing material with which the interme diate layer of material is treated.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the cutting blades and printing rollers.

Figure a is an enlarged detail view of the printing part of the mechan sm, showing the means for adjusting the platen, the printing roller and inking roller being shown in section.

Figure 5 is an end view of the upper portion of the machine, showing the transversely disposed knife which operates automatically to sever the longitudinal strips into lengths of a predetermined size.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the bed which is arnnged under the cutting discs.

Figure '7 is a transverse sectional view 01. the l ne 77 of Figure 6.

Serial No. 624,764.

Figure 8 is a detail view of a the printing roller.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail view of one of the composite laminated basket making p;eces of material which is produced by the machine.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated on all of the views of the drawings by like reference characters.

The machine may be constructed upon any suitable base or bed, and for illustrative purposes the base of the machine is shown as in the form of a frame 1. At one end of the base a pair of upright standards 2 are arranged, said standards being provided with an upper set of bearings 3 upon which a roll 4- of some suitable material, such as straw paper is mounted, and also with lower bearings 5 upon which a roll of suitable fabric (3 is mounted,

The straw paper 4 as it is unwound from the roll is drawn through a conventional tensioning device 7 and then passes between a pair of pressure rollers 8. The fabric 6 passes through a tensioning device 9, after which it is carried downwardly into a tank 10 which contains glue or some other suitable sizing material, such as eooked cornstarch paste. There are guide rollers 11 at the top of the tank on opposite sides thereof, and there is also a guide roller 12 which is submer 'ed in the tank and around which the fabric passes. This intermediate guide roller 12 is movable up and down within the tank and is adjustable by means of a crank handle 13 which is applied to a shaft 14. A. suitable pawl. and ratchet 15 is provided to prevent backward turning of the shaft, and opposite ends of the shaft are connected with depending cables 16 which can be wound upon the shaft or unwound t ierefrom. These cables are in turn connected with slidably mounted bearings 17 at opposite ends of the tank. The intermediate guide roller 12 is journaled in these slidable bearings and with this arrangement it will be obvious that the said roller can be raised and lowered by suitably manipulating the crank handle 13. At the far side of the tank a roller 18 cooperates with the guide roller 11 to squeeze any surplus glue or sizing material from the fabric.

After being treated with the glue or sizing material, the fabric is carried to the pressure portion of er is,

rollers S and it passes through the rollers between the upper strip of paper 4 and a lower strip of paper 19 which is unwound from a roll 20 journaled between suitable bearings 21 in uprights 22. A suitable tensioning device 23 is provided for this lower strip of paper 19. The pressure rollers 8 force the two strips of paper firmly against the upper and lower surfaces of the fabric 6, and the glue or sizing material with which the fabric has just been treated will cause the paper to adhere tightly to the fabric. In the present instance the upper pressure roller 8 is mounted in slidable bearings 2a, and levers 25' are arranged to engage the siidable bearings. The free ends of the levers are provided with weights 26 and the action of the weighted levers tends to move the upper roller 8 downwardly and force it corresponding lower roller. The three thicknesses of material passing between the pressure rollers are thus forced ti htly together, and if desired, one or both of the pressure rollers may be heated in some conventional manner so that the glue or sizing which the fabric has previously will be partially or completely dried as the fabric passes between the pressure rollers and the strips of paper are applied to the upper and lower surfaces thereof.

The composite sheet thus formed, and which is designated on the drawings by the reference character A passes over a table 27 where it is acted upon by a series of rotary knives 28 and cut into a series of narrow strips or ribbons a. Just in advance of the rotary knives 28 the edges of the composite sheet are engaged by guides 29, and these guides are adjustable by means of a screw shaft 30 which has a handle 31 at each end thereof. This enables the guides to be properly positioned so that the composite sheet A will be accurately guided and fed to the rotary knives in the proper manner. The table 27 may be formed with a series of slits 27 to receive the lower portion of the rotary knives 28, thereby enabling the latter to act upon the composite sheet in the most effective manner. The rotary knives 28 themselves are carried by a shaft 32 which is journaled in suitable bearings 33, and which may receive power from any suitable source.

After being acted upon by the rotary knives or cutters 28 and severed into a series of narrow strips or ribbons a, the composite sheet passes under a printing roller 3 The printing roller is provided with a printing element for each of the narrow strips or ribbons a, and is arranged directly under an inking roller 35 which applies ink to the printing surfaces as the printing roller revolves. The platen 36 for the printing rollof course. arranged under the composite heet, and at each end of the platen toward the been treated the side edges thereof are engaged by opposed wedge members 37 which are adjustable by screws 38. By forcing the opposed wedge members of each set toward each other the platen can be raised, while by loosening the screws and permitting the wedge members of each set to separate or recede from each other, the platen can be lowered. In this way the platen can be accurately adjusted, and screws 89 are provided to hold the platen in an adjusted postion. By providing the printing roller with suitable printing surfaces the name or advertisement of the person or concern using the baskets can be printed upon the strips of material as they are run through the machine.

The printed strips (2 are drawn between two feed rollers 40 which may be heated, if desired, and which are preferably driven by power so that they provide a means for forcibly drawing the composite strip through the machine. I

From the feed rollers 40 the strips (4 ertend downwardly into a tank &1 which contains some suitable water proofing material such as paratline or the like. A roller 42 is arranged toward the bottom of the tank, being journaled in bearings l3 which are sli'dably mounted and opcratively connected by means of cables 4-1 to a shaft l5 which is provided with a handle lli and also with a pawl and ratchet arrangement-i7 to prevent backward rotation of the shaft. This construction provides for raising and lowering the roller 42, as may be found necessary. From the roller 42 the strips (1 extend upwardly and pass between a pair of rollers 48 which operate to squeeze any surplus water proofing material from the strips,

From the roller 48 the strips pass between a pair of feed rollers 49 which may receive power from any suitable source. After passing between the feed rollers 49 the strips are severed in predetermined len ths by means of a reciprocating knife 50. @prings 51 normally hold the knife in a raised position, and cams 52 which are applied to a shaft. 53 intermittently force the knife downwardly against the action of the springs. The shaft has a chain and sprocket connection 5a with some movable part of the machine, such as the shaft of one of the feed rollers -19, and the connection is such that the intermittent movements of the knife will automatically sever the narrow ribbons or strips (0 into suitable lengths for use in making the desired baskets or containers.

In the event some material should be available which could be substituted for the composite sheet A, previously described, this substitute material can be mounted upon a roller 55 which is shown as journaled in suitable bearings 56 or standards 57, and arranged in advance of the table 27. The material could be fed from this roller to the rotary knives and printing device, and, in this event, the parts of the machine which are provided for producing the composite sheet A might be omitted. This roller is arranged slightly below the level usually occupied by the composite sheet A as it passes from the pressure rollers 8 to the table 27', so that the roller will not interfere with the usual operation of the machine when it is not in use.

In making the composite sheet the upper and lower paper sheets may be formed of some inexpensive paper, such as straw paper, and this will provide a use for large quantities of straw which are burned or destroyed annually. Any inexpensive or damaged fabric can be used for the intermediate fabric sheet, and the resultant product is a tough sheet, which is properly stiffened by the use of glue or sizing, and which is finally Water-proofed so that it will even resist exposure to the weather better than the usual wood splint containers which quickly warp and lose their shape as soon as they become wet. Owing to the fact that the sheet is carried through the water proof ing material after it has been cut into strips by the rotary knives 28, the edges of the strips will be water-proofed as Well as the faces thereof.

The roller 18 which cooperates with the roller 11 to squeeze any surplus sizing from the fabric 6 as it leaves the tank 10 is jour- 'naled in slidable bearings which are connected to cables 70, said cables passing around the pulley 71 and having the weights 72 applied to the ends thereof. These weights act in an obvious manner to draw the roller 18 toward the roller 11, so that the fabric will be squeezed between the two rollers. One of the rollers 48 is also journaled in slidable bearings which are con nected in an identical manner with cables 73, which pass around pulleys 74 and have weights 7 5 applied to the ends thereof. The strips a are thus squeezed effectively between the rollers 48, so that any surplus water-proofing material will be removed therefrom before the strips finally leave the tank 41.

The cutting discs 28 are preferably adjustably mounted upon the shaft 82, so that they can be set variable distances apart as may be desired. This spacing of the cutting discs can be accomplished in any suitable manner, and on Figure 3 spacing sleeves 32 are fitted upon the shaft between the cutting discs. The spacing of the cutting discs is, of course, determined by the length of the spacing sleeves 32, and the length of these sleeves can be varied as may be desired.

The knife receiving slits 27 must be adjustable to correspond with the adjustment of the cutting discs, and as shown in the drawing, these slits are provided by the spaces between block members which are adj ustably mounted between a pair of transverse channel shaped members 61. The blocks 60 are removable, interchangeable and adjustable. Different sizes of blocks can be used, and the blocks can be set different distances apart, and with this arrangement the slits 2? can be properly positioned to receive the knives 28 at any adjusted position of the latter.

One or both of the rollers 48 are heated in some conventional manner as by the introduction of steam into the interior thereof. The heating of these rollers results in the removal of any surplus paratline or water proofing material from the strips (4 as they leave the tank of water-proofing material.

A sample of the finished product is shown by Figure 9. This is a sheet of laminated basket making material which can be bent and use in. the same manner as a wooden splint for the making of a basket or container. This laminated sheet, however, has greater inherent strength than the wooden splints, and will not become warped and wrinkled in the manner of a wooden splint when exposed to rain and moisture.

One particular form of a machine which is adapted for use in making the product has been described in detail, although it will be understood that many modifications and changes can be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. The herein described process of making composite sheet material, which consists in applying sizing to a main thickness of material, bringing a cover thickness of paper against the main thickness so that it is secured thereto by the adhesive action of the sizing, slitting the product longitudinally into a series of strips, printing impressions upon the strips at intervals, subsequently water-proofing the strips so that the waterproofing covers the printed impressions and is applied to the slit edges of the strip, and cutting the strips transversely into pieces of a predetermined length, each of which has a complete printed impression thereon.

A machine of the character described, including means for continuously feeding a sheet of material, means for applying sizing to the sheet as it passes through the machine, means for affixing a cover sheet to the said sheet so that the sheets will be seecured together by the adhesive action of the sizing, cutters arranged. in the path of the sheet for severing it into a plurality of strips, means for printing definite impressions upon the strips at predetermined intervals, means for subsequently applying Water proofing to the strips whereby the printed impressions and edges of the strips are covered with waterproofing, and a transverse cutter operating in synchronism with the feeding and printing means whereby the strips are out into pieces of predetermined length, the transverse cutter acting upon the strips at the intervals between the printed impressions whereby each oi the severed pieces has a complete printed impression thereon, all of the operations taking place during the continuous feeding of the mater-i a1 through the machine.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN E. HAGER. 

